What Happened To Charmand Grimloch?

Charmand Grimloch (aka Joachim Rygg) was, at one time, black metal’s preeminent keyboard player. His stints with Emperor as a session player propelled him to heights unknown. Well, his black metal solo project Tartaros produced notoriety, but nothing on the scale of what he accomplished by coat tailing Ihsahn and the boys. After Tartaros went into obscurity before the millennium, one wondered where Norway’s (apart from Top Hat guy from Dimmu Borgir) favorite ivory/ebony tinkler went… And one wondered.
Until now, I think. Charmand Grimloch now goes by his real name, Joachim Rygg, and he’s a prominent composer of TV shows, soundtracks, and stuff, well, like this: The DNC, or Dual Nations Collective, which features Rygg’s alter-alter ego, Jay Arr. Who are The DNC? Well, they’re self-described as “urban/pop mixed with hip-hop at a non-stop party.” Turns out Arr, or Rygg, or Grimloch has packed his fjord bags and moved to the U.S., where his music career has blossomed, creating songs for movies like Center Stage 2, American Pie: The Naked Mile, and Save The Last Dance 2.

If that’s light years away from creepy carnival keyboard runs from Dol Guldur, well, it is. OK, he still does music like this, but it’s hard to believe a semi-prominent black metaller (who once threatened to fight yours truly at Milwaukee Metalfest) is now doing high-octane urban dance music. Odder things have happened for sure, but in this case reality is stranger than fiction.